RCMP raid Conservative party headquarters over election matter

[George Wallace]

If this wasnt a raid, what was it?

:

That has been explained above (or below, depending on your settings).  It was the "Execution of a Warrant".......by an Elections Canada official and a RCMP officer who was "present".

 

[sgf]

An execution of a warrant is a raid.

n.
A surprise attack by a small armed force.
A sudden forcible entry into a place by police: a raid on a gambling den.
An entrance into another's territory for the purpose of seizing goods or valuables.
A predatory operation mounted against a competitor, especially an attempt to lure away the personnel or membership of a competing organization.
An attempt to seize control of a company, as by acquiring a majority of its stock.
An attempt by speculators to drive stock prices down by coordinated selling.

I would say that the third one covers this, but at the end of the day it really doesnt matter what this is called: search, raid, visit. This has to be embarassing for Harper, and I cant remember another time when the RCMP raided a Political Party HQs. Whos knows if the Tories are quilty or not, but what it does show (at least to me), that the promise that Harper made about accountability, openess and that things would be different with his party was just hot air. I am well aware all of the scandals the Liberals were involved in, and how that affected their party; this latest just reinforces to me that the Conservatives are not much better.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Well, there goes that last nerve I was holding on to......

Just couldn't drop the bone and keep it on topic, could you?

Bye.

 

[garb811]

Well, persons closely connected to the federal Liberal party did manage to trigger search warrants on the BC Legislature (Warrants Raise Tough Questions for Libs) in relation to criminal allegations.  That is a little more embarrasing in my books considering, you know, the status of the place compared to a mere office, even if it is the HQ of a political party.

 

[RangerRay]

Well, persons closely connected to the federal Liberal party did manage to trigger search warrants on the BC Legislature (Warrants Raise Tough Questions for Libs) in relation to criminal allegations.  That is a little more embarrasing in my books considering, you know, the status of the place compared to a mere office, even if it is the HQ of a political party.

The "raid" on the BC legislature was more like a real raid because it involved dozens of uniformed Victoria Police officers (all of whom appeared to be sergeants or higher) and marked vehicles.  As well, I don't believe the media was there waiting for them, but because the media usually hang around there, they were no doubt attracted by the hub-bub.  I believe the allegations/charges were/are Criminal Code violations, including influence peddling.

What happened yesterday, with two plain clothes constables and a couple of other civilian officials, looked like a simple execution of a search warrant.  Hardly a "raid".

 

[Edward Campbell]

Here, reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions (§29) of the Copyright Act from today’s Globe and Mail, is an article that actually makes a fair bit of sense to me:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080417.wtories17/BNStory/National/home

Former lobbyist deems raids an act of revenge

BILL CURRY AND JANE TABER

From Thursday's Globe and Mail
April 17, 2008 at 5:21 AM EDT

OTTAWA — Raids at Conservative Party headquarters are an act of vengeance by power-hungry Elections Canada bureaucrats directed at Prime Minister Stephen Harper, says Gerry Nicholls, who worked with Mr. Harper at a lobby group that was heavily critical of Canada's election watchdogs.

For the second day in a row, Conservative Party headquarters was visited by officials executing an Elections Canada search warrant, creating a political frenzy on Parliament Hill and fuelling speculation about a spring election.

But Mr. Nicholls said this week's problems for the Conservatives date back to Mr. Harper's five-year hiatus from federal politics between 1997 and 2002, when he was president of the National Citizens' Coalition. Mr. Nicholls was vice-president for most of that time, and the duo regularly fought what they termed "election gag laws" that limit spending by third parties during campaigns.

"We were engaged in a blood feud with Elections Canada. It was a real war," Mr. Nicholls recalled. "There is definitely some bad blood, I think, between Harper and the bureaucrats at Elections Canada. And I think what happened [Tuesday] is just a continuation of that vendetta."

In a 2001 letter to NCC supporters, Mr. Harper wrote, "The jackasses at Elections Canada are out of control."

Mr. Nicholls, a freelance political commentator, who notes that he now is a vocal critic of Mr. Harper's government, cites that letter as an example of the kind of comments he believes Elections Canada has never forgotten.

In the Commons yesterday, the Prime Minister came under fire for the second consecutive day from Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion and others. Mr. Harper repeated his government's assertion that his party disputes Elections Canada's concerns that Conservatives broke finance rules during the 2006 campaign.

"The Leader of the Opposition has lost ground. He has thrown away his ground on all his issues and now he is just throwing mud," Mr. Harper said.

Conservative ministers and MPs went further, suggesting Elections Canada is targeting the Tories in an act of intimidation.

"We further think it is unfair that it is an interpretation that applies only to Conservative candidates," Government House Leader Peter Van Loan said.

The Conservative defence had the opposition fuming, calling the remarks another example of how the Conservative government attacks independent federal bodies and citing the spat with the Nuclear Safety Commission.

"I think the Conservative Party is at war with our institutions," Mr. Dion told reporters. "Now you have a search warrant of two days now in their headquarters and their answer is to attack Elections Canada. This is very serious."

Earlier yesterday in a private meeting, Mr. Dion told his caucus the Liberals would defeat the government when he believes they can win an election.

Caucus members spent an hour yesterday posing with the leader for television commercials. MPs and senators crowded around Mr. Dion with television cameras recording. As well, two of his senior aides, Paddy Torsney and Eleni Bakopanos, left their positions on Tuesday.

Conservatives in court

While the Commissioner of Elections Canada is investigating whether the Conservative Party broke election financing rules during the 2006 campaign, the Conservative Party has launched a civil action against Elections Canada disputing the agency's interpretation of the rules.

It is not the only case where Conservatives have turned to the courts since forming the government in 2006.

April 11 The Conservative government requested a Federal Court ruling asking the court to block the Military Police Complaints Commission from holding public hearings over whether Canada turned prisoners over to Afghan security forces with the knowledge they may be tortured.

March, 2008 Prime Minister Stephen Harper filed a $2.5-million libel suit in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against the Liberal Party, claiming damages stemming from comments on a Liberal website about Mr. Harper and allegations that Tory officials attempted to bribe dying Independent MP Chuck Cadman before a key vote in the House of Commons.

November, 2007 Justice Minister Rob Nicholson sent a letter threatening legal action to Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla over comments she made about the Minister's role in Karlheinz Schreiber's deportation process.

It is a fact that:

• There are long, drawn-out and very bitter feuds between bureaucrats and citizens (individually and in groups);

• Bureaucrats are only human – they do hold grudges; and

• A few (not to many, I hope) bureaucrats are partisan and they are not above using their positions to advance the interests of those they favour or retard the interests of those they oppose or with whom they are engaged in a feud.

 

[stegner]

It is a fact that:

•  There are long, drawn-out and very bitter feuds between bureaucrats and citizens (individually and in groups);

•  Bureaucrats are only human – they do hold grudges; and

•  A few (not to many, I hope) bureaucrats are partisan and they are not above using their positions to advance the interests of those they favour or retard the interests of those they oppose or with whom they are engaged in a feud.

The problem I think is that Harper & Co. have been painting everyone from the civil service to the courts to the Governor General to the media as  biased against them right from Jan 23, 2006.  Whenever an issue comes up substantive or not I have noticed a pattern of the CPC blaming someone else and accusing them of being biased an inappropriately so.  While there may be some instances where that is the case, I think the Conservative habit of crying wolf is detracting from occasional occasions where this might be the case.  But I do think that bias is highly overstated in the civil service, which is a reflection of the Canadian citizenry, there are Conservatives, Liberals and those that still believe Elvis is alive therein.  It is important to note that bureaucrats do not stay in place this is the third or fourth Elections Commissioner that Harper has fought with, perhaps the problem lay not with them, especially since the most recent executives of Elections Canada have been Conservative appointments.

 

[Edward Campbell]

The problem I think is that Harper & Co. have been painting everyone from the civil service to the courts to the Governor General to the media as  biased against them right from Jan 23, 2006.   Whenever an issue comes up substantive or not I have noticed a pattern of the CPC blaming someone else and accusing them of being biased an inappropriately so.   While there may be some instances where that is the case, I think the Conservative habit of crying wolf is detracting from occasional occasions where this might be the case.   But I do think that bias is highly overstated in the civil service, which is a reflection of the Canadian citizenry, there are Conservatives, Liberals and those that still believe Elvis is alive therein.   It is important to note that bureaucrats do not stay in place this is the third or fourth Elections Commissioner that Harper has fought with, perhaps the problem lay not with them, especially since the most recent executives of Elections Canada have been Conservative appointments.

I'm inclined to agree with you re: Harper's anti-civil service stance (one he has shared with too many previous Conservative PMs (Diefenbaker and Mulroney, in my memory)). I also agree that Harper's tactics - and they often work - frequently involve shooting the messenger. That being said, some civil services are involved in disputes with Canadians, do hold grudges and, in a few cases, are politically partisan and misuse their powers.

 

[stegner]

I'm inclined to agree with you re: Harper's anti-civil service stance (one he has shared with too many previous Conservative PMs (Diefenbaker and Mulroney, in my memory)). I also agree that Harper's tactics - and they often work - frequently involve shooting the messenger. That being said, some civil services are involved in disputes with Canadians, do hold grudges and, in a few cases, are politically partisan and misuse their powers.

I agree with you on civil servants holding grudges.  With respect to Diefenbaker I think he had every reason to be paranoid-as everyone was out to get him! 

 

[Edward Campbell]

Diefenbaker, Mulroney and Harper all had some reason to suspect that the upper levels of the civil service might be partisan: Lester Pearson and Mitchell Sharp et al made a pretty convincing case for an inbuilt Liberal bias - just based on long standing relationships and on the fact that civil servants Pearson, Sharp and others drafted the policies and legislation that PMs like King, St Laurent and Pearson made into law.

That being said, Diefenbaker and Mulroney discovered, and I'm sure Harper will discover that even if some (many, perhaps) senior civil servants do have an inbuilt political bias towards the Liberals, they are, in almost all cases, both able and willing to put their biases aside and serve the Conservative government faithfully.

 

[RangerRay]

In my job, were I required to enter a premisis with a search warrant, I would only require the RCMP if I expected trouble, i.e. in previous dealings, they became very beligerent and/or violent.

Why did Elections Canada call the RCMP in this instance?  Surely, they didn't expect staff at Conservative HQ to become beligerent and violent?

Giving the media prior knowledge is also a troubling question that should must be answered.  They didn't show up because they were listening to their scanners!

 

[Eye In The Sky]

In my job, were I required to enter a premisis with a search warrant, I would only require the RCMP if I expected trouble, i.e. in previous dealings, they became very beligerent and/or violent.

Why did Elections Canada call the RCMP in this instance?  Surely, they didn't expect staff at Conservative HQ to become beligerent and violent?

Giving the media prior knowledge is also a troubling question that should must be answered.  They didn't show up because they were listening to their scanners!

Because they knew the cameras would be there...and no one could say anything to convince me otherwise.

 

[tomahawk6]

Sounds like it was politically motivated. A Liberal pol was just involved in fraud so maybe its a shot across the bow. If I were the PM and the RCMP were used to make a political point I think I would be firing some people.

http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/415797

 

[Rodahn]

Sounds like it was politically motivated. A Liberal pol was just involved in fraud so maybe its a shot across the bow. If I were the PM and the RCMP were used to make a political point I think I would be firing some people.

http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/415797

Normally I would agree, however in this instance both the Chief Electoral Officer and Commissioner's names were suggested by the Conservatives and passed by Parliament....

 

[a_majoor]

More pieces of the puzzle:

http://stevejanke.com/archives/260507.php?utm_medium=RSS

Elections Canada: Who does Andre Thouin work for?
Thursday, April 17, 2008 at 10:40 PM

A minor detail, but you know Andre Thouin?  He's the Elections Canada official photographed carrying out that box of material from Conservative Party headquarters.  Here's the thing.  I can't find him in the staff list.

The Canadian government maintains the Government Electronic Directory Services.  Here is the full listing starting with the entry of Elections Canada:

(Edit: list removed to make this more readable. Follow the link)

Two things ought to strike you at once.

First, just how many people does it take to run an organization that is needed once every four years?  Apparently, a lot!

Second, where is Andre Thouin? You know, the fellow from Elections Canada?

    At least two Mounties sifted through party offices on the 12th floor of a downtown office building as camera crews captured the images outside. A short time later, two officers rolled a cart full of boxes and bags into a 17th-floor mailroom. Elections Canada official Andre Thouin was seen leaving the building with a carton of documents.

He's the guy in all those pictures.

He doesn't seem to work for Elections Canada.  Indeed, he doesn't appear in the Canadian government's electronic directory working for any department of the government from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to Western Economic Diversification Canada (there is no department that starts with Z).

Maybe Andre Thouin is an independent contractor.  Or maybe he is a new hire and the directory hasn't been updated.  But then you would think that something as sensitive as this visit to Conservative Party headquarters would be handled by a full-time staff member with plenty of experience.

Update:  Kady O'Malley wonders if I'm being a bit too paranoid, but she only succeeds in making wonder if there really is something to all this.

 

[Rodahn]

Curiouser, and curiouser......

 

[Yrys]

Interesting (french) article about the bottom of the thing (law and PC procedures) rather then the surface of the thing.

Un scandale équivoque

 

[Remius]

Any reason why it might not be the RCMP who tipped off the media?  Some people there have many reasons to dislike the current government.

 

[Rodahn]

Article from David Akin; see link...

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=ed2eef06-e587-425a-b4b7-85c2fd266e3b&k=49151

 

[Dog Walker]

More pieces of the puzzle:

http://stevejanke.com/archives/260507.php?utm_medium=RSS

Years ago, I had a co-worker whose wife was a certified accountant. Once she was hired by the police to take part on a raid on a business which was under investigation.  She actually went in with the police and she was the one responsible for securing and the examination of the books and records. The police contracted her for that investigation because of her expertise, and because she was an objective third party.